David Freese

Freese had a bit of a rebound from his disastrous 2014 season, as he posted the second-highest ISO of his career (.163), but the strikeout rate approached 23 percent, while the walk rate (6.6%) was hi...

Freese's first season as a member of the Angels ended in disappointment, as the 31-year-old posted the lowest .OPS of his career (.704) in 134 games. While his batted-ball profile showed a career-best mark for line drive percentage, as well as a decrease in groundballs, his strikeout rate continued to climb, settling at a career-high 24.3%. He also walked just 38 times in 462 at-bats, carrying his lowest walk rate (7.4%) since 2011. Despite his unflattering overall numbers, Freese managed to salvage September, as he sported a .315/.367/.562 line with just nine punchouts in 73 at-bats. Freese will almost certainly begin the 2015 season at the hot corner, but Gordon Beckham saw a few starts at third base before he turned it on in the final month, so it's not inconceivable that he could find himself playing for his job at some point if he can't get his strikeout numbers under control.

2014

Freese struggled in his final season with the Cardinals, seeing his numbers come down across the board, likely the result of a normalization of his BABIP (.320) thanks to a very groundball-heavy profile (55.2% groundball rate). Over his five-year big league career, Freese has been increasingly prone to pounding pitches into the ground, which understandably has taken a toll on the power he can provide. After being traded to the Angels during the offseason, he'll have minimal competition for playing time in Orange County, but his new home park doesn't offer much in terms of an upgraded run environment. Fortunately, he may be able to pile up useful counting stats if the Angels manage to get rebound efforts from Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton in front of Freese in the batting order.

2013

Freese finally put it all together and made it through a whole season, and while his numbers won't remind anyone of his legendary 2011 postseason run, they weren't bad. Unfortunately, Freese turns 30 in April, and while he doesn't have a lot of miles on his tires, his prime could be short-lived. As long as he stays healthy - and that's a big if - he could hit a lot of home runs in the next few years, but if his contact rate declines even just a little bit (he had 122 strikeouts in 501 at-bats last year), Freese might find himself on the bench more often than he has in recent seasons even when healthy.

2012

Freese may have finally left his bad luck behind in 2011. Oh, he had a two-month stint on the DL with a broken hand, but that was all forgotten once October rolled around, as he hit like a man possessed (.397/.465/.794 and five home runs in 63 at-bats). His postseason heroics will likely overrate him some, but one shouldn't consider him flash in the pan, as he's always been a pretty good hitter and just needed the opportunity. Though his career-high 10 home runs in just 333 at-bats is a good sign, his exorbitantly-high .359 BABIP might suggest his batting average is coming down a little in 2012. Then again, his BABIP has always been high.

2011

Freese can't seem to catch a break. Every time it looks like he's going to be handed the job at the hot corner, injuries or other circumstances ruin the opportunity. Last season, he even suffered a fluke toe injury when he was already on the DL with an ankle injury. When he was healthy, he didn't provide the home runs you would expect from a corner infielder, though his .361 on base percentage shows promise. Once again, he's at the top of the organizational depth chart at third, but the Cardinals could be looking elsewhere in the offseason.

2010

Poor guy. In March it looked like Freese would be the main beneficiary of Troy Glaus' shoulder surgery. Fantasy owners paid accordingly. After a couple of weeks of backing up the likes of Brian Barden and Joe Thurston, Freese was sent down. Although he continued to show his strong power, he had an ankle injury that kept him out of action for a couple of months. By the time the Cards called him up in September, his time had passed. The good news is that Brett Wallace is now gone, so Freese may have a clear path to the third-base job in 2009. That is, if he can hold off Allen Craig, Barden and Thurston.

2009

Freese came over from the Padres a year ago, blocked by Kevin Kouzmanoff. His path to the majors isn't any better in St. Louis, with Troy Glaus ahead of him and Brett Wallace and Allen Craig coming up behind him fast. As a 25-year-old playing in Triple-A for the first time in 2008, Freese hit .306/.361/.550, so he's proved himself to be good with the stick. He probably will not be able to hold off Wallace for much longer, so if he doesn't make the majors in 2009, he'll probably be elsewhere by 2010.

2008

Freese turned in a solid season at High-A Lake Elsinore last year (.302/.400/.489 with 17 homers and 96 RBI), but that was as a 24-year-old in a low-level league that favors hitters. Freese's path in San Diego was blocked at third base by Kevin Kouzmanoff and top prospect Chase Headley, so an offseason trade to St. Louis should improve his fantasy outlook. He'll likely spend 2008 in Double-A with an outside shot of reaching the majors in September.